BUYING a Premiership club and gathering together some of the continent's finest players: £200m.

BUYING a Premiership club and gathering together some of the continent's finest players: #200m. Frustrating them in their own backyard: priceless.

It would take more than Mastercard to help Everton bridge the financial gap between themselves and Chelsea.

But this game demonstrated that sometimes a little sweat, toil and hard work can go further than even the fattest bank balance.

It is a lesson which Claudio Ranieri's men would do well to heed ahead of tomorrow night's Champions League semi-final.

The Italian coach may not have fielded his strongest side against the Toffees, clearly with one eye focused on the clash with Monaco.

But even without skipper John Terry, winger Damien Duff and midfielder Claude Makelele, the Chelski millionaires are still more than a match for most sides.

Everton, however, were a nut they could not crack.

David Weir's explanation after the game was simple: "We worked hard."

For much of this season Evertonians have been scratching their heads trying to work out why things have not gone as well as last year.

Maybe the answer is graft. Over the last nine matches the Blues have not always played well. They have not always enjoyed their fair share of good fortune.

But they have only lost once because the effort has been there. There seems to have been a greater willingness to put in that extra five per cent, to run that extra yard.

Why that level of endeavour has not been present all season is a matter that should be addressed in the summer.

Had it been, another top 10 finish would be a certainty, rather than a vain hope.

David Moyes has admitted that this has been the toughest season of his managerial career.

He has never before had to contend with the kind of extended run of poor form which left Everton in the bottom three for a time over Christmas.

It is to his credit that he has overcome the problems and guided Everton back into calmer waters.

And I suspect his ability to turn things around is helped significantly by his refusal to hold grudges.

That is a trait which too few managers possess. But this season Moyes has buried the hatchet with both Duncan Ferguson and Francis Jeffers after very public falling-outs.

The players may not have endeared themselves to their boss as people, but Moyes' number one priority is Everton.

And after clear-the-air talks with Jeffers last week, the 23-year-old was back in the fold on Saturday.

His brief 15-minute appearance at the end of the match - and the effort he put in during that run-out - underlined why Moyes is such an astute boss.

Not seeing eye-to-eye with a player can sometimes be the very best kind of motivation.

Take his ability to bring the best out of players, coupled with his tactical nous, and it easy to see why the last two years have been better than they should have been for a club as bereft of financial clout as Everton.

Not even a couple of broadsides from the Chelsea galleon could disturb that even keel on Saturday.

Everton's defiant resistance frustrated the home side and nullified the contest, ensuring it was far from a classic spectacle. But if 'classic' matches lead to 4-1 drubbings, as happened twice last season, you can keep them.

The press box at Stamford Bridge is just a few yards behind the dugouts. The view of the game may not be great, but it provides an intriguing insight into the action and instructions of the two managers.

And there is no doubt on Saturday it was Ranieri getting hottest under the collar.

Moyes? He may have been a little twitchy in the closing stages as the home side did everything they could to break down the fiercely resistant Everton defence.

But in the main he was composed, dishing out instructions with his usual authority as he did his best to outwit the Tinkerman.

It worked a treat. For all their possession, Chelsea had to settle for efforts from distance for much of the game.

It was only after the arrival of substitutes Filipe Oliveira and Jesper Gronkjaer late in the game that they managed to get decent balls into the box.

But neither Adrian Mutu nor Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink could capitalise on the handful of chances that came their way.

The Chelsea fans love to sing about how they don't need Wayne Rooney, because they've got Mutu.

He may be a talented striker, but the Romanian has one minor flaw in his game at the moment - he can't score goals.

Rooney, on the other hand, went into this match on the back of a run of six goals in six starts. It is an impressive run which has taken him to the top of the club's goalscoring charts.

But, unfortunately, some of the Mutu magic rubbed off on the 18-year-old yesterday.

He only had two sights of goal during the game - but they were great sights.

In the 32nd minute a free-kick from the right which curled into the crowded penalty box fell nicely for Kevin Kilbane.

His turn and shot took a major deflection and fell kindly for Rooney, four yards out with only Marco Ambrosio to beat. But somehow the keeper denied him.

Devon knows how he made it so cleanly - the Italian's outstretched right leg denied the quickfire snapshot from the forward.

And Ambrosio frustrated Rooney again on the stroke of half-time.

An innocuous through ball from Thomas Gravesen was left by Robert Huth in the belief it would roll harmlessly out for a goalkick.

But the defender hadn't banked on Rooney's anticipation. Ambrosio, however, had.

As Rooney slipped behind the embarrassed defender, Ambrosio charged off his line to smother the striker's effort from a tight angle.

A little more fortune and the visitors would have been two up at the break.

The only threat from the home side was posed by Rooney's England international teammate Frank Lampard.

His unerring ability to find the target with efforts from distance saw him hit the woodwork once in each half.

After his heroics last week against Leeds, Nigel Martyn deserved a little good luck.

And after losing late goals at Southampton and Leicester, the Blues deserved the good fortune they earned in the dying minutes as the Chelsea onslaught became monotonous.

They were denied by the steely determination of an Everton side which is enjoying its best run of results of the season.

Confidence, the motivational skills of a focused manager and a lot of hard work have been the key.

Those factors have guided the club even closer to mathematical safety. Staying in the Premiership - now that really is priceless.